Here's how to split your screen in Windows 10

Having multiple displays is great for multitasking, enabling you to write documents on one screen, chat with associates on another, and sneak in a little gaming on a third. But what if you can’t afford more than one monitor? We show you how to split your screen in Windows 10.

Sure, you can have multiple windows open on a single display, but that’s no fun. You can’t see everything at once, forcing you to shuffle windows like a stack of virtual magazines. Snapping windows, however, is your ticket to a clutter-free desktop.

Here’s how to split your screen in Windows 10 using version 1809 (October 2018 Update):

Verify Snap Assist is on

The first step is to make sure Snap Assist is even enabled in Windows 10. That starts with the Settings app:

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Click/tap on System.

3. Navigate to Multitasking listed on the left-hand menu.

As shown above, you will see four settings associated with snapping: Automatically arrange windows, automatically resize windows, resize adjacent snapped windows, and show what you can snap next to the current window. Toggle these settings on an off as needed.

Let’s get snappy

With Snap Assist on, you can get snappy with your Windows 10 desktop. Here’s how:

1. Drag the first window you want to snap over to the right or left. You’ll know you’re about to snap by the visual tap icon next to the target screen’s edge along with a shadowed line drawn down the middle (shown above). Let go of the mouse button.

2. If you want to move the first window to the other side, simultaneously press the Windows button with the appropriate left or right arrow key.

4. Resize if needed. Hover the mouse over the virtual divider until it appears gray and the mouse cursor appears as two arrows. You can drag the divider left or right, but you can only narrow one window down to a fourth of your screen. The other window will consume up to three-fourths of the screen.

For more than two windows

Have a high-resolution screen? You can snap four windows for the ultimate in multitasking! However, using a 1440p resolution feels somewhat tight (though still doable), so we recommend using a 4K screen to take advantage of this foursome mode.

1. With the mouse, grab the first window and move it into a corner. Again, you’ll see a visual tap icon rendered in the target corner and a virtual box outlining the target area. Afterwards, you can reposition this snapped window to any corner using the Windows button and arrow keys.

2. Do the same for the next two windows, only toss them into different corners.

3. With three windows in place, the remaining blank space shows the open applications that can fill this final spot. As shown above, simply click on the application, and it will automatically fill the space. Note that not all applications and programs can fit in these narrow areas.